SAN DIEGO, CA, 20NOV2018 - Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen hosts a press conference to discuss border security and the migrant caravan at Border Field State Park in San Diego, California.

SAN DIEGO, CA, 20NOV2018 - Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen hosts a press conference to discuss border security and the migrant caravan at Border Field State Park in San Diego, California. (Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The announcement Thursday that all asylum seekers at the southern U.S. border except Mexicans and children traveling alone would be required to wait in Mexico while their cases are evaluated by immigration courts triggered sharp denunciations from human rights groups, which called the move callous, dangerous and illegal. Given President Donald Trump’s record of mostly losing court fights over his immigration policies, this plan may not survive.

But given Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee — that one goal of this move is to “focus more attention on those who are actually fleeing persecution” — the sweeping policy change can be seen as a recognition of reality. While 80 percent of Central American asylum seekers pass an initial “credible fear” interview after claiming their personal safety is at risk back home, only about 10 percent are granted asylum. The idea that the great majority of people who migrate to America don’t qualify for asylum under long-accepted rules may seem inhumane to some. But immigration laws exist for a reason.

The Trump administration should now signal its constructiveness by sharply speeding up asylum reviews that can take years. If it doesn’t, Nielsen’s comments carry a whiff of presidential xenophobia.